We, the People

It’s a known fact that celebrities have a whole lot of influential power over their audience and people in general, but how far and how strongly does their influence reach? Recently, I read an article by Gina Bellafante called, “Shia LaBeouf and the Pitfalls to Celebrity Activism“. It was about art piece that was installed on the exterior of the Museum of Moving Image in Queens, New York. The piece was created by Shia LaBeouf and in collaboration with Luke Turner and Nastja Sade Ronkko and was released on January 20, the day President Trump took office. The exhibit invited everyone to look in a camera and say the phrase, “He will not divide us.” The recording would then be played on live, online for all to see. Although, the article focused mainly on LaBeouf and his controversial piece, the main message was in regards to the extent influence of celebrity activism.

Although I do agree that celebrities have a huge amount of influential power over the general people, I believe that the general public, when united, has the ability to get things done. It is the regular people, the majority, that goes out there and protests and marches and fights for what they think is right. It is the people who gather and plan. And it is the people who bring results. When celebrities do have a strong influence, they are only one person compared to the millions of people in the world. So to tie everything up, my overaching idea is that people, UNITED, cause change, not only one person.